Lost and Found
by cxtchingstars
Summary: It had been eight years since she last saw him. The Academy had declared him dead after he had failed to return from a mission. Sure, he was always known for his good looks and his piercing red eyes but she couldn't imagine his future turning out this way. The Black Cat, Natsume Hyuuga – a prostitute.
1. Chapter 1

She went up to the eleventh floor of the apartment building, swiping her card against the keypad to enter her private elevator. _Sakura Enterprises_. Her family, being one of the richest and most influential through Tokyo, had converted Gakuen Alice into the tall, sleek and pristine building with glass windows. From the outside, the tall building was just made up of a tutoring centre, a gym and several offices on the top floors which were controlling the stock-market.

She wasn't stupid either. She knew the entire building was a cover-up for the Academy. Every single person who worked in the building was an alice. She no longer was the dense, innocent childlike girl she once was. At the age of thirteen, she was exposed to the dangerous world outside the safety of the Academy.

Missions and trainings had led her to who she was today – no longer the simple-minded child but one of the highest ranked assassins in the country.

The set-up of the entire building made sense. The bottom three floors – disguised as a gym to the public eye - was run by Mochu, Sumire and Kitsu. They focused on the physical aspects of training and utilized different weapons made by Hotaru in order to train their students.

The next four floors were dedicated to both emotional and mental strength – including alice training and a school for the students to gain their normal education. These were run by Koko, Yuu and other teachers of Gakuen Alice.

The floors just below her office was owned by her best friend, Hotaru Imai. The eighth to tenth floors of the buildings consisted of her experimental designs and inventions. Ranging from human experiments to testing on animals (only harmless experiments on the animals approved by her boyfriend Ruka Nogi) to the countless of inventions built to increase the effectiveness of the missions.

The floor above her office, the twelfth floor, was her loft. Having reign over what happens within the office meant she could easily convert the top floor into her apartment. This made it simpler for her to switch between her missions and her cover-up day job of a CEO. Her job was to watch over the alices on other floors, assign missions and to make enough money to live outside the measly allowances the school used to give them.

A black, thin folder greeted her on her office desk. She tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear, revealing her four piercings, each containing an alice-prevention device. She didn't want to accidentally blow up the entire building she had worked so hard to build and create. Her long and straightened hair descended down her back in cascades, a change from the ponytails she constantly wore when she was young. She scanned the contents of the folder before reaching for her favourite knife. She had work to do.

* * *

Her mission had gone relatively easily, a simple one to infiltrate an enemy base and copy over several key files before corrupting the program. She grunted as she stretched, feeling the bones of her back crackle. She activated her healing alice on the small cut above her eyebrow before internally screaming at herself for being so careless. While it was a tiny cut that felt like barely a scratch, her carelessness could have costed her so much more. She had so much more to learn and needed to remain focused as her mind replayed all the events of the night. At the same time, she knew that she was her harshest critic but who could blame her.

She wandered through the streets of Tokyo, looking for a shop still open where she could get herself some coffee. She desperately needed some caffeine in her system if she was to work a full shift tomorrow collating statistics and regulating the stock-market.

Her Ducati pulled into parking lot outside the nearest convenience store as she waited to buy her ice coffee and a box of fluff puffs, because she might be grown-up but her taste buds never age. As she patiently waited behind the tall blonde woman in front of him conversing with the lady behind the counter while waiting for her coffee to be made, she heard it.

'Do you think the red-eyed boy will be back tonight? He was so good the other night you should try him out too!'

'The tattoo on his back is actually so hot!'

 _Red-eyed boy._

 _Tattoo on his back._

There were probably plenty of people in the world with red-eyes. It probably meant nothing. And yet, her mind was buzzing louder than ever. The pain from the cut underneath her eyebrow disappeared.

She watched as the blonde woman picked up her coffee and left the store. She eyed her attire, a plain black crop top with a mini skirt and fishnets underneath. The gold lace of her black boots glistened under the moonlight as Mikan rolled her eyes.

 _Okay she's one of those._

A cough brought her attention back to the present as she eyed the lady behind the counter. Mikan placed her order of a flat white and a medium-sized box of fluff puffs before awkwardly continuing, 'Hey! Sorry for eavesdropping, but I heard you mentioning a red-eyed boy? Do you have his name? I think we might have been friends at some point.'

The lady behind the counter narrowed her eyes before giving her a cold glare, 'I don't care if you guys used to be friends or not but what's between you and him is none of my business. I only talk about him with people I actually consider friends and I don't intend on discussing my sex life with a stranger so you can piss off.' A small cup of ice coffee is shoved into her hands and she is ushered out of the store.

Mikan sighed to herself. She had tried to forget about him ever since the Academy had declared him dead. He had meant so much to her and all of a sudden, he was gone and had never returned. Everything she did, her training and perfecting of her alices, was to find him again until her hopes were dashed by a cat mask being returned to the Academy followed by a funeral a week later.

Not that she had mentioned it, there was no evidence of a body brought back to the Academy. She had just turned fourteen and didn't question the Academy.

Was there a possibility he was still alive? She didn't know but a small chance was better than no chance at all. She regretted not using her mind-reading alice on the two ladies in front of her but she knew better than to use her alices on non-alices. The consequences were devastating especially if one of the higher-ups had found out.

If the Academy _had_ lied and he was still alive, where was he now? Why didn't he try to find her? Why didn't he return? She had so many questions she needed answers to and she needed to find him, or at least try.

She didn't want to reach a specific conclusion but everything the ladies had said led her to believe she was right, despite how much she hated the prospect of it.

 _'He was so good the other night.'_

 _'You should try him out too.'_

 _'The tattoo on his back'_

 _'My sex life.'_

The way the ladies casually referred to him as some play-thing angered her and she felt sick to her stomach. The idea devastated her beyond anything else. She knew he had good looks but she had always imagined him having a successful future – maybe as a businessman, or a model or even a doctor. His ingenuity and cleverness would have aided him greatly. Regardless of whatever job he had, she had always imagined their future _together_.

The image entered her mind of the thirteen-year-old boy when she had last seen him. He had been consumed by darkness due to the Academy but his façade was cracking in a few places. He was no longer brutally cold and distant. She was one of the rare ones who he had let in to see who he was. His crimson-eyes were dark as ever and yet seemed to lighten up every time he had set his eyes on her. He had a strong desire to protect everyone around him, especially her – but she saw beyond that. She knew that the protector had to be protected too.

She needed to find him as soon as possible if he was alive. She had a vague idea where to start looking based on the clues she was given.

The tiny boy with crimson eyes that widened every time he saw her, selling himself? It sounded impossible and yet her mind screamed differently. _Her_ Natsume Hyuuga – a prostitute.

* * *

 **Rated M to be safe!**

 **Edit: I changed the M rating to a T for now since there _technically_ isn't any overly explicit content. This might change in the future but for now a T rating is sufficient. There might be more mature themes but nothing really M rated. **

**My first story so please read and review! (and be nice and give constructive criticism to help me improve my writing!)**

 **~ K**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry for the reupload! I changed the rating for now and will wait until I've written more parts of the story to decide if I'm going to change it back to M. At the moment, there might be some language and themes but nothing written is overly explicit so I think a T rating is sufficient.**

* * *

Her debriefing on the mission yesterday had gone horribly in her standards. The gash on her eyebrow and her slightly burnt left shoulder were evidence of her carelessness and the result of nearly lethal levels of sleep-deprivation. Her work piled on as she was required to pass an additional physical examination test in order to go on her next mission. She also needed to go through tons of files for her normal banking job, but her mind was far too distracted for any of the numbers to be processed.

She grabbed her third cup of coffee for the day as she sifted through the stack of papers on her desk. She wanted to head out and start looking for _him_ now but it wasn't late enough in the night. If her calculations were correct, he would only be working during the latest hours of the night till just before the sun rises.

Her hand instinctively reached into the bottom drawer of her wooden mahogany desk, pulling it open as she reached for the black cat mask she had kept from all those years ago. The edges of the mask were charred and there was a thick crack right through the middle but she couldn't ignore the slightly burnt writing on the bottom right corner. _Sakura._ Whether it was a sign for her or a sign that he was overly attached to the Sakura tree he was always found under, she never knew nor did she dare to make any assumptions. The thought that she could finally get some answers made her heart race.

She missed him. She missed him so fucking much it hurt her heart to even think about him. When she received the news that he was dead, she had fallen into a pit of depression. Her best friends had managed to coax her out of her room after several weeks and even then she didn't crack a smile. After she had accepted his death and was broken out of her state of denial, she devoted all her time to getting stronger. She wanted to be able to protect her friends the same way he had always protected her.

If he was alive, why didn't he come back and find her? The thought of him avoiding her sent a pang straight through her heart. If he was still alive and he wanted to find her, the tall black building was a simple place to start. Not to mention, why did the Academy declare him dead if he wasn't? Her thoughts clouded her mind as she absent-mindedly scrolled her excel document up and down. The sun had started to set as she grabbed her large oversized bomber jacket, dialing the floor below her as she headed out, 'Hotaru! I'm going out for the night. Not on a mission, don't worry. Just some personal business.'

* * *

She cruised the streets of the night in her Ducati, careful to not take her helmet off unless necessary. She did have a reputation to uphold and if anyone knew she was looking for hookers, or one specific hooker, her influential status would fly out the window. She thought about telling her friends, especially her old classmates, about potentially finding Natsume but she needed to see him for herself before dragging everyone into it.

As the night progressed, the moonlight glistened – as if mocking her of her failure. She had been looking for him for around two hours but to no avail. More guys than she could count had asked to _escort_ her, all in which she turned down. Hell, she was about to scream if another guy tried to lay his hands on her.

She heard the revving of a black Ferrari as said car drifted to a stop. A guy clad in a pair of ripped jeans and an old pair of sneakers stepped out.

 _Him_.

She saw his back muscles tense as he grabbed a wad of rabbits from a lady in the front seat before the car sped off.

 _Piercing crimson eyes._

'Natsume…' She called out softly, removing her helmet and letting her hair fall to her sides. She recognized his tuft of black hair and his red eyes instantly. He had grown a lot since she had last seen him. Shirtless, he turned around to reveal a defined pack of abs.

His crimson orbs clashed with the familiar hazel ones and she swore she saw a brief glance of uncertainty in his eyes for a split second before a completely different persona took over. One that was overly familiar to her – he oozed confidence as he eyed her from head to toe.

'Hey pretty girl… Have you been looking for me? Would you like me to entertain you for the night?' His voice dripped with what she could only define as _sex_ before he walked closer to her. This was the same cocky, perveted Natsume she had met as a kid – the one with all his walls up before she had slowly but surely broken them down.

'Natsume! Stop it. What are you doing? It's me, Mikan!' She raised her voice desperately, trying to get him to recognise her. She didn't know what had happened to him but she needed answers. She hoped he would play it off as some joke, waiting for the familiar smirk to grace his face as he laughed over her reaction. She waited for one of the many perverted comments she had received from him – honestly the thought of him calling her 'polka' right now sounded perfect. She needed _something_ to prove to her that he remembered her.

'Tch. I have no idea who you are. Stop raising your voice. If you're not here for business, leave. You're getting in the way. My customers won't want to get close to me if you're here making a racket,' Natsume coldly responded, not acknowledging who she was in any way.

'It's me Natsume. Sakura Mikan. From the Academy? I don't know if you really don't remember me or you're just pretending but please… hear me out. Even if you don't remember me, it's getting late so please, come with me and we can talk more tomorrow.' She knew she sounded like a whiny, needy bitch but she couldn't stop herself.

'I know…' He murmured to no one. He cleared his throat before continuing with his voice raised for her to hear, 'Miss Sakura, if you're really not looking for someone to fuck you, I would suggest you leave. It's getting late for you but my hours are just beginning. This is the prime time for me to receive customers so please _fuck off_.' His tone was sharp and his eyes narrowed as he looked at her. She cringed at his crude language but she held her ground.

She tugged his arm, trying to get him to follow her but he pulled away swiftly. Her touch sent a jolt of electricity through his skin. No, he couldn't let her touch him. He wasn't the same boy he was all those years ago. He wasn't the same strong, powerful genius who was sent by the Academy to do mission after mission. After he had lost his alice from his last mission, he was just… _nothing._ He was left with gaps in his memory and a frail, weak boy who could barely support himself. He did what he needed to survive through his circumstances.

He recognized her from the second their eyes met. How could he forget her hazel eyes? The ones he fell in love with? He had worked so hard to remain in the shadows and in the darkness after he had lost his alice and now, here she was. His _sun_. No, he couldn't let his darkness consume her the way it did him. He didn't want her memories of him tainted by who he was now.

He vowed to protect her for as long as he lived, even if it meant protecting her from someone as broken and disgusting as himself.

* * *

 **Wow! Second update the next day! I just wanted to see how this story would go and would love to thank you all for reading! I might try to do weekly updates (or maybe once every few days) but we'll see!**

 **Once again, please read and review! I love to hear your opinion on it and would love to find ways to improve my writing.**

 **~ K**


	3. Chapter 3

A million thoughts zoomed through Mikan's mind before she could process them. The only thing she knew was that she had just found him, there was no way she was going to just let him walk away. She couldn't just pretend that night hadn't happened. For hell's sake, she still had a childhood photo of them on her bedside table.

'How much do you charge for one night?' She blurted before she could stop herself as her face turned a deep shade of red before she continued, 'Not in that way I mean. You said this is your prime time to receive customers, right? I'll pay you more than what you normally receive for one night.'

To say Natsume was taken aback was an understatement. He knew she wasn't going to give up so easily after she had found him but he didn't expect her to pay him just for a talk. His mind was torn. He could decline her offer, go back and work for the rest of the night – as a whore. _A bad option but nothing he wasn't used to._ Or, he could go back with her and probably make double of what he'd normally earn – giving him enough money to survive.

 _Damn it all to hell._

'Seven hundred rabbits. Up front and in cash. One night only.' His cold tone sliced through the winter air as he shivered, his voice cracking on his last sentence.

'Fine.' Mikan's heart leapt but she tried to remain calm and collected. She tried to reach out and hold his arm but he pulled away rapidly again. She grabbed her oversized jacket and draped it onto his shirtless self – hoping to provide him some warmth. She briefly continued before he returned it to her, 'It's an oversized men's bomber jacket and I'm not taking it back so if you're not going to keep it, no one will. If you're going to let a perfectly fine quality jacket lie on the floor for someone else then so be it.' Despite her tone, she secretly hoped he would keep it.

He rolled his eyes at her stubbornness. His pride was really suffering today. He didn't want her help for God's sake. He had survived on his own for the past eight years and he could do it for the next eighteen.

Natsume got on the motorbike behind her, careful not to touch her. He held on tightly to the seat and the clunk of metal on the side. He tried to stop himself from burying his face in her neck in order to inhale the familiar scent of strawberry and sakura flowers in her hair. _He couldn't do that anymore._

Mikan felt his weight against the Ducati as she sped off towards the nearest ATM in order to withdraw enough rabbits to pay Natsume. She noticed his obvious avoidance towards her and frowned. _He probably had sex with so many pretty girls and realized how boring and ugly she was_. She willed herself not to cry, especially not in front of him.

'Here you go, seven hundred rabbits. Up front and in cash.' She watched as he stashed the wad of rabbits into his pockets eagerly. She tried to piece together the small amounts of information she had in order to judge his financial situation and from what she knew so far, it looked pretty bad.

* * *

Upon arriving back to the building at around 4am, Mikan used her keycard to open the back door. She noticed the way Natsume's head tilted up as his eyes quickly scanned the height of the building and widened in surprise.

His hands tucked into his pockets, Natsume followed Mikan to her loft. As the elevator door opened, he noticed the modern look in her apartment.

A modern wide living area with pristine black couches on a small black carpet immediately welcomed them as Mikan ushered Natsume into her home. She sat him quickly on the couch before getting him a glass of hot chocolate.

'Natsume. You're probably tired and it's getting late. We can talk another time. I'll show you to the guest bedroom.' Mikan got up promptly and showed him to the second door on his left.

'Wait a second. You paid me seven hundred fucking rabbits to come to your apartment to _sleep_?' His mind raced with thoughts. What was wrong with this woman? He expected either an interrogation or some sexual encounter between them.

'I would love to talk to you and ask heaps of questions but I don't think now is a good time for either of us. I'm… I don't want to overstep any boundaries but I'm not sure when was the last time you slept in a real bed. We can talk tomorrow okay? Get a good rest. Goodnight Natsume, I missed you.' Mikan said softly before switching off all the lights in the hallway and walking back to her own bedroom. 'I missed you so much…' She whispered into the darkness for no one to hear.

Natsume gently touched the silk sheets of the bed in the guest bedroom. These were too beautiful and delicate for someone like him. He headed to the furthest corner of the room and pressed his back into the wall. He had learnt to adapt to these sleeping habits, always being on the lookout and ready to strike back in case someone tried to hurt him in the middle of the night. It wasn't uncommon to be attacked in the middle of the night by drunken strangers or other thieves trying to steal money he didn't own. It wasn't the most comfortable position but he got used to it. It definitely felt nice sitting on a ground that wasn't covered in mud or sweat or blood. He fell asleep with the bitter realization that Mikan was, in every way, too successful and good for him anymore. Her loft, her motorbike, her clothes, even her damn _bedsheets._ She was just way _way_ too good for him.

* * *

Mikan awoke the next morning in her room smiling eagerly. Natsume had come home with her last night. The Natsume she had assumed was dead. The same Natsume she didn't think she'll have the chance to see ever again. It was truly a miracle.

She knocked on the guest bedroom door before creaking it open. The entire room was spotless, there was no trace of anyone that had slept or been there last night.

 _Was it all a dream? Did she imagine it all?_

She wandered into her living room anxiously before seeing a small handwritten note on the table with a neatly folded oversized men's bomber jacket lying next to it. She scanned the note quickly before rushing down the elevator into her office.

She quickly compared the small handwritten note with the black cat mask she fished out from her bottom drawer. He had left early that morning but that didn't mean she wasn't going to find him again. She was more hopeful than ever.

She read the note over and over again as a bright smile bloomed on her face.

 ** _Thank you, Sakura_**

* * *

 **Thank you all so much for reading! Please read and review once again with any suggestions or constructive criticism for my writing! This is my first ever story so please don't be too harsh.**

 **I'll see you all at the next update. Also I start classes next week so I'm really getting busy but I'll try my best! I have several ideas I would love to explore so I'm quite excited!**

 **~ K**


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